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Monday, 18 October 2010

Crown of Lights Free Music Events, based in Heckmondwike, have secured the last gig from the popular Halifax indie band In Echoes, formally Theclectix, before their current drummer departs to Los Angeles. After headlining one of Heckmondwike's summer festivals and taking the crowd by storm, In Echoes have agreed to play the 250 seater Comrades Club in the town. The band will be performing all their own songs from their forthcoming album 'Memorabilia' as well as a wide selection of popular covers from the likes of The Killers, Kasabian and Kings of Leon. For the first time ever they will be performing a special acoustic set in between their two main performances.

EPs, normally costing £2, with three tracks from the new album will be given away free at the event. For more on the band visit www.inechoes.com. The club is family friendly and the two hour show starts at 7pm on Sunday 24th October. Comrades Club, Regent St, Heckmondwike. Doors 6pm. Free entry.

Saturday, 16 October 2010

Brainwash Festival will be celebrating its 5th birthday on 22nd-24th October 2010; it’ll be a weekend of the usual ace bands of all shapes, sizes and sounds across the Brudenell Social Club and Royal Park Cellars. Having previously hosted Oceansize, Efterklang, iLiKETRAiNS, Clark, Youthmovies, Handsome Furs, Adem and many more over the last couple of years the festival is an important part of the yorkshire gig calendar and an integral part of the Leeds music community.Poster Web | Poster Hi Res
This is of course just the start of around 40 bands who’ll be playing over the course of the weekend but as an early announcement we have:
MELT BANANA
Noisy Japanese lot; incredibly frantic, one hell of a yelp, good times indeed right here:Myspace
SHINING
Incredibly excited about this one, the album title ‘Blackjazz’ kind of sums them up, but listen here for some delightful heaviness all the way from Norway:Myspace
65DAYSOFSTATIC (DJ SET) Myspace
CHICKENHAWK Myspace
GLISSANDO Myspace
THE PLIGHT Myspace
TWEAK BIRD Myspace
Also confirmed:
DOSH (Anticon) Myspace
HOLY STATE Myspace
BLACKLISTERS Myspace
JUFFAGE MyspaceTickets go on sale Friday 6th August 2010.
For all press inquiries please contact: tom[@]ilikepress.co.ukA statement from the organizer’s:This year we’re celebrating our 5th birthday, so thought this would be an appropriate time to figure out for ourselves, and explain to the uninitiated, just what this small music festival is all about.Brainwash began life as a three-day event across the Brudenell Social Club and Royal Park Cellars in 2006; the idea being that the venues’ close proximity to one another would create a flow of eager music-lovers across a small patch of Leeds’s much beloved LS6 area. Key to the ethos of the festival was, and is still, diversity: a mish-mash of genres loosely based around rock/indie/metal music but stretching from its confines into anything from folk to jazz to electronica; people don’t like just one type of music and they certainly don’t want to see the same band 40 times over a weekend…We’ve had the mathy patterns of Japanese instrumentalists Lite (not forgetting their snot wielding tour buddies 54-71); the soft tones and subtle ingenuity of Adem; the epic rock progressions of Oceansize; the brutal noise of US legends Unsane; the neo-classical motions of Olafur Arnalds; we’ve even managed to somehow take Norway’s Jaga Jazzist from the majesty of London’s Barbican Hall one night into the modesty of a backstreet social club in Leeds the next. And that’s before you even consider the wealth of local talent, indeed the bedrock of an event like this, provided by the likes of Humanfly, Fran Rodgers, Vessels, Forward Russia, Pulled Apart By Horses, Glissando, Paul “Lone Wolf” Marshall and many more.We’ve also had a charity element to the festival each year, raising money for the likes of Oxfam and Sheffield Children’s Hospital in the past few years. This year we’re in the process of setting up a teaching program with local musicians, aiming to provide free music lessons to those young people who would normally struggle to get any.For many people, however, the ‘serious’ stuff doesn’t matter too much, and that’s totally fine – Brainwash is hopefully just an excuse to see a load of ace bands, discover someone you’ve never heard of and drink the very reasonably priced Brudenell bar dry…

Friday, 15 October 2010

9,822 supporters so far, but we need more - Tell your friends to tell their friends to pledge their support!

Thanks for being one of the first to pledge your support to our campaign. We have had an incredible first month, but we need many, many more people to sign up all around the UK.

It is estimated that three-quarters of adults and a far higher proportion of young people take part in the arts every year. If your friends and family value the arts in their community, they need to make their voice be heard too.

Please forward this email to everyone you know who values the arts and encourage them to sign up at www.ivaluethearts.org.uk

We will keep you informed by email of any threats to arts provision both nationally and in your area. Also, if an arts organisation near you is under threat, we want to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing: info@ivaluethearts.org.uk.

In the mean time, if you have a twitter account, please encourage your followers to join the campaign. You can also spread the word in other ways, to find out how, visit the campaign website: www.ivaluethearts.org.uk

Wednesday, 13 October 2010

Glimpses into the past can be fascinating and Jane Thornton’s adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights directed by John Godber at the Hull Truck Theatre, provides a faithful energetic view of this historic novel. This play is full of the drama and the despair of the lives and loves of Cathy and Heathcliff. The opening scene sets the tone and evokes the brutality of the times. The less than perfect lives are spewed out with a loathing which brings a chill to the audience. The scene is compelling and abrupt and does not put the audience at ease.
Love stories have intimacy, tenderness and caring; Cathy and Heathcliffe lacked any of these. Perhaps this is because it is such a big story in the Novel where Heathcliffe and Cathy’s emotional humanness could be empathised with. This was lost perhaps in the narrative shortness of the play. Most of my feelings went towards the people who were used by them. Poor Edgar Linton used by Cathy to provide the lifestyle she sought and even worse their children forced into marriage to perpetuate Heathcliffe’s unrequited love
The story is hurtled along with powerful narrative delivered by each of the characters. This gives an interesting interplay to the roles of each character. From the outset Cathy hissed her life story then slipped into the present and each character followed a similar path. The constant setting of the timeline took a little getting used to; by halfway through the first half I let the chapters unfold.

Gaynor Faye & Rupert Hill Karl Andre Photography

I am sure that Stuart Wade revelled in the darkness of the characters he played because he performed them so well. Stuart played a convincing Hindley turned by the tragic events in his life. Continuing this tragic theme is Heathcliffe, played by Rupert Hill- yes he did look and act broody and it must be every girls dream to be wanted by him -good casting. Cathy what were you thinking letting him go? I really empathised with your torture. Gayner Faye took the part of Cathy voice, body and soul although she did lose the Yorkshire accent as the play progressed. Poor Edgar played by Frazer Hammill who gave a heart rending performance when he lost his love. The desperation in his voice and expression made him the character I felt compassion for most of all. Fiona Wass moved through the different characters as Francis, Nelly and Isabella. These were cleverly done through body language and a headscarf. I particularly enjoyed her portrayal of an indulgent new wife. I applaud all the actors for their team work the play had a lot of dialogue and quick changes which they pulled off.
Seamlessly the plot developed; constraints of passing time were cleverly managed through dialogue under the direction of John Godber. Each actor moved effortlessly synchronised from moment to moment switching between each scene, which unfolded like the closing and opening of chapters in a book.
Graham Kirks clever use of lighting and scenery also allowed the play to continue without any halts for changing scenery. It was a pleasure to see the moorland backdrop so much that I didn’t want to go indoors. The lighting and set design by Pip Leckenby from the opening scene, which was chilling, and throughout the play enhanced and evoked moodiness. Appropriate music and sound also created changing moods and ambience throughout the performance. Each and every word was clear even the amusing creak of the door vocals provided by Stuart Wade.
Be prepared for narrative story telling with sudden dramatic bursts of action. Good play- go see it

Tuesday, 12 October 2010

WE'RE BACK!! Oh yes, with a new season of Band Nights :) We've packed away all of the wires, speakers, deck chairs and sleeveless shirts from this years spectacular summer festivals and are back up 'n' at em for the return of the monthly Band Nights at the Comrades.

Our first Band Night back will not disappoint. We're paying homage to this year's triumphant festivals by showing off three of the bands who played storming sets at the two date event. We have also managed to pull off a bit of a coup by securing the services of one of the most spellbinding and respected performers in the acoustic scene today to play between bands. More about that later....

The first band to hit the stage will be the very young, but very talented The Kitschen. They opened the second of our summer festivals in spectacular style with their own blend of fresh and funky jams (their words not mine - though I am, of course, cool, street and down with the kids enough to have made that up myself!)

Next up will be festival sweethearts Cherry Picasso, sporting their sparklingly new bassist and front person (I think that's correct, PC wise). They electrified the assembled crowd at this year's festival resulting in yours truly being literally stampeded by fans demanding to get their hands on the free CD's the band had on offer. They certainly seem to have hit the mark with this new lineup.

Next up will be Band Night newcomers, Mother Of The Gold - a three piece Folk/Rock band with vocals reminiscent of the Black Crowes, Rod Stewart and The Quireboys. Mother Of the Gold are an energetic band with a lot to offer the audience in terms of entertainment. We've heard a lot about this band and are thoroughly moistened in anticipation of their debut here.

Finishing the night off in style will be the ever popular Band Night favourites, Tuesday's Secret. I have travelled far and wide to see this band do their thing (well, as far as Batley at least). Their skillfully delivered, infectious pop punk tunage will have you dancing in the isles and singing in the taxi on the way home. A perfect way to finish the night off.

Now then, between bands, we usually treat you to some of the best acoustic artists in the region (and therefore the country!), but we are proper proud to be able to present something really very special indeedy for this first band night of the season. Mesmorising us with his magical melodies between bands will be none other than the legendary and very unique Shaun T Hunter aka Quiet Rebellion. One of the most consistently critically acclaimed performers in the industry, Shaun's incredibly powerful songs, coupled with his spellbinding stage presence will delight both young and old.

Now, we do know that there are many other pretty good gigs on this Friday throughout the area but, as you can see, the Band Night is surely the place to be ! See you there :) (and do your friends a favour and pass this message on!)

Sunday, 10 October 2010

Dear YGGSo, as it goes, weather you know or not, I work for Kirkwood Hospice as one of the retail managers.Recently it was decided by the trustees (after a 2 year battle with PRS) that we could no longer play music in the shops we have due to the huge cost implications.
Now as we currently have 15 shops, I realised a few major things needed to happen so I looked into the PRS laws & guidelines...
Long and short was, if a band or artist has not been signed to a label, AND has not copywritten their materials yet, that we could, by law, download and play them in our shops if granted by the artist(s).
So, a little more research (which sounds obvious really), led me to facts like, customers are 40% more likely to make a purchase, if background music is played, this being down to the more comfortable atmosphere provided and, the time they will then spend brousing! (no-brainer really!)
So as a fellow promoter / music fan & shop manager, I realised, not only could this be a great opportunity to have artists heard by a huge new audience, but, with some careful planning, it may be possible to sell their cd's in our 15 shops too.
At present we are only allowed to play music by composers who have been dead over 80 years (Beethoven etc). Now our bosses are not so bothered as the licence is around £1000 per shop and they dont actually have to work there! So I have taken this challenge upon myself to try to gain around 100 songs of local artists that we can legally play in our shops.
I guess you probably know more than me about the legal PRS bits, but, with a little help, If I can compose 10 cd's say, to play in our shops, I reckon I have a great chance of putting a proposal together to the Kirkwood trustees to sell cd's on bands behalf. Thus benefitting all parties.
Obviously, as a charitable group, a percentagage would probably have to be negociated, but I do have a lot of backiing in our retail sector and I think a fair fee could be easily agreed.
So lets say for instance, a fairly unknown artist/band was willing to accept this offer, they could provide us with just 3 albums per shop (produced by them) we sell at say £6 per cd, take half for the hospice.
In return they would gain 'air'play to our kirklees-wide customer base of around 200,000 customers locally. Now after semi-pilotting this in my shop alone, with only 3 albums, we have had vast comments and enquiries as to who is being played and where their albums could be bought.
For your information, we, as a retail group, turned over more than 1.2million pounds in 2009, all from donated goods.
Not only do we have a huge support network and customer base but also massive local support and fantastic media links.
This really could be a win win situation!
Now I'm not asking for hours of your time or donations of cash, but if you could forward this email to anyone you think may be able to help us and benefit from this opportunity, I only ask that they send a cover letter & (non-explicite) demo cd to;
The Retail Manager, Kirkwood Hospice, 46 Market Street, Milnsbridge, Huddersfield, HD3 4HY.
They MUST include;
Full name, telephone number and a postal address for the artist/band,
A brief biog,
rough date established
recent gig dates & venues
& why they would like to get involved in this promotion.
If any of the above information is not sent, we would not be able to consider for album sales so please include as much information as possible when submitting cd's.
Pat, if you can help, I'd be very very greatful.
Kind thanks & much respect,
Hannah xxx
P.s - feel free to forward this message to anyone who you think may be able to benefit from this opportunity, x

Friday, 1 October 2010

A big industrial old place full of atmosphere the Well – but what a great place for bands with stage lighting
and sound.On stage was New Vinyl, a good solid sound and super stage presence holding the audience the whole time in foot tapping and head bobbing to new Vinyl’s masterly handling of heavy beats. With left handed guitar and bass and a giant captain like figure on double keyboards in a storm of music. Lead singer in a trance of vocal ecstasy in clear powerful song. Arthur Rigby and the Baskervylles, a 9 piece combo band was next up. From the first note I was smitten. Good strong vocals superbly interlinking with the various instruments. They were absolutely awesome man this is just the sort of group I would pay a lot of money to go and see. Lead singer god like on stage, a magical mix of vocal styles, rich and earthy full of expressive undertones. His voice bounced off each instrument in a magical harmonic mix. Brilliant backing vocals from the rest of the band with precise timing complimented and wrapped an otherwise unnoticed void. Enthusiasm shone through the whole group, consisting of 2 violins, sax, trombone, trumpet, keyboards and drums making a truly awesome sound.

A rainy night forgot I was glad to be at LionsLook Presents at the Well. Kuz the organiser greeted me warmly, introduced me to the bands and kindly gave the Yorkshire Gig Guide an interview (see film clip below). Kuz’s enthusiasm and commitment for furthering new and upcoming musicians thus giving them a chance to showcase their talents fired through. During the break I entered into conversation with Eden the sound engineer who along with Tom (not at this gig) engineers most of the gigs at The Well. Eden is self-taught and owes much to his mentor Phil (Flux Acoustics). Eden has worked in many venues including The Cockpit, the Basement and then The Well from 1997. He was also deputy sound manager at the Leeds Grand Theatre for 7 years. He thoroughly enjoys his work and said "Where else can you get to see great bands every night" Eden also plays in the Punk group Abrasive Wheels.
A fabulous night was had by all, unfortunately the evening ended all too soon as this reporter could have listened to both bands for a lot longer. Arthur Rigby and the Baskervylles I beg, nay implore you, to catch this marvellous band. New Vinyl are a band worth travelling to see too, so don't miss out if either of these bands are anywhere near you. You will not be disappointed.
Thanks to Lions Look and Kus for this experience
Denis YGG

As I had never been to the Brudenell Social Club in Hyde Park, Leeds I had no idea what to expect. Once inside I found that it provided an intimate atmosphere, perfect for the fans.

Me my Mum, Tim and my Mum's friend.

The Staves, a trio of young girls opened the night. They had very good harmonies and their voices all complimented each other very well, especially in the song 'Mexico' which was my personal favourite performed by them. In one particular song, the use of the Ukelele and the Guitar worked really well together. They explained they have been touring with Mt. Desolation and spent the last ten days in Scotland visiting places such as Inverness and the Isle of Mull. They finished their folk rock set with their cover of an Irish folk song called 'The Silver Dagger' which was excellent and I thought they were a really good band to set the mood of the night. To listen to some of their songs and for information about The Staves go to their website: http://www.myspace.com/thestavesmusic Mt. Desolation are a recently formed band created by two members from popular rock band Keane, Tim Rice-Oxley; keyboardist, song writer and vocals and Jesse Quinn who provides the main vocals and guitar to this nouveau Country and Western band. The rest of the band members consist of members from The Long Winters, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Noah & The Whale and The Staves.

What I noticed as Tim started playing the intro to the first song was that it has an essence of Keane embedded in it which I thought was a good touch. Jesse made a good front-man, the upbeat song really got the crowd going. Jessica Stavely-Taylor, one of the members of The Staves is also part of Mt. Desolation and provided a good contrast to Jesse's strong masculine voice as their harmonies worked really well together.'Bitter Pill' was lead by Tim's powerful vocals with Jesse and Jessica as back up vocalists. This song was more rocky with a folk undertone to it and I think it really worked as a song.The songs performed were both a mixture of blues and feel-good music. These got the crowd dancing and clapping along. The use of the fiddle in certain songs really heightened the emotion of the song, especially one that Tim explained was about regret."This is another soppy love song." Jesse stated and then began to play the mouth organ which I found to be very reminiscent of Bob Dylan. The room fell silent however once finished, a sea of cheers and applauses filled the room.The gig came to an end as they finished with 'Your Kind Of Life' which was another upbeat track and I thought was a brilliant song to end an extremely enjoyable gig.I managed to speak to Tim as they began packing their equipment, I complimented him and said how much I enjoyed the night to which he was so genuinely grateful. I asked him whether they were going to do any more tours once their album is released to which he replied this wouldn't probably happen as they are busy working on their latest Keane album which is still in the making. He even posed for a photo with my mum, her friend and myself.

The self titled album by Mt. Desolation is out on the 18th of October and is available for pre-order from their website: http://www.mtdesolation.com/